During treatments, it’s a passion of mine to address the science behind skin care. From time to time, I bring up the aura surrounding the latest touted miracle ingredient in skin care – Stem Cells. I found a fantastic overview of the facts and am pleased to share ‘key bites’ with you. For the entire article, and all sources, I’ll be happy to forward a PDF version via email, or you can read the hard copy at the office.
'''Stem cells are marketed in skin care products as an antiaging miracle ingredient. Is it true? Can stem cells actually affect the skin when applied topically? This is a science-heavy and somewhat controversial topic.
WHAT IS A STEM CELL?
To start, we need to define what stem cells are and how that may relate to an ingredient calling itself a stem cell. A simple definition comes from Merriam-Webster: “An unspecialized cell capable of perpetuating itself through cell division and having the potential to give rise to differentiated cells with specialized functions.” How the stem cell perpetuates itself is dependent on how the DNA is expressed, which means that different types of organs and tissues are developed based on what the DNA code says. In this same manner, damaged DNA code can cause disease and organ malformation.
WHAT IS THE HYPOTHESIS FOR USING STEM CELLS?
Adult stem cells can be damaged by disease, internal stress, and ultraviolet radiation. The theory is that using lab-created plant or human stem cells can protect and stimulate existing cells to repair the skin. We are born with a limited amount of stem cells, and the goal is to prolong their life and get them to continue the regeneration process (once a stem cell is damaged, it cannot replicate). The regeneration process is accomplished by using extracts such as epidermal growth factors, which have been shown to heal wounds and generate skin growth and repair. Claiming that a product is “using stem cells” is misleading. It’s actually the factors extracted, such as antioxidants, cell-stimulating peptides, enzymes, and growth factors that make the ingredient work. Some skepticism with the performance of these products includes:
• Stem cells, whether plant or human, must be alive in order to have any effect; using stem cells in a cream is not an effective way to keep these cells alive.2
• Stem cells must be delivered deeply into the skin to be effective; this process turns a cosmetic into a drug.
• Stem cell extracts, such as enzymes and growth factors, are sensitive to temperature and are hard to stabilize in a cosmetic formulation.
For every argument that this ingredient works, there is one that says it will not. There is a lack of peer-reviewed in vivo (on live humans) studies that support the efficacy of this ingredient.
WHERE IN THE SKIN ARE ADULT STEM CELLS LOCATED?
Living adult stem cells are found in the bulb of the hair follicle and within the skin’s basal layer and dermis. For a skin care product application, the focus is on epidermal stem cells only. Dermal stem cell treatments require deep penetration into the skin which can cause unforeseen complications.
PLANT VERSUS HUMAN STEM CELL INGREDIENTS
The most recognized stem cell ingredient used in skin care products is the stem cell of the Swiss Uttwiler Spätlauber apple. The efficacy of this ingredient was studied in vitro (cells in a petri dish), as well as in a small cohort of users. The study’s outcome showed there was an increase in the lifespan of mesenchymal stem cells within a controlled environment, and this ingredient has been widely used and promoted. The beauty of these plant stem cell ingredients is the ability to protect the skin, but the ability to directly affect stem cells within a live human by topically applying these ingredients has not been proven.
Many estheticians who use and sell these products report seeing benefits from them, but the question of efficacy remains. It could simply be that a very good product formulation with the correct delivery system is improving the skin, but claiming that stem cells are strengthened is impossible to prove.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Harnessing the power of stem cells in a therapeutic medical treatment has the potential to cure disease and regrow organs. Studies are ongoing, and possibilities for the regenerative effects of stem cells on skin are a future possibility. As for the success of stem cells as a primary topical antiaging ingredient — well, the jury is still out.'''
Source; Fountain Of Youth? Stem cells; an overview of the newest anti-aging miracle ingredient by Susanne Schmaling, Skin Deep Magazine, May/June 2016, Associated Skin Care Professionals